Don't Let Go
by WhiteWolf144
Summary: Rose is a second away from falling into the Void. The Doctor found out something huge minutes prior and he was just about to lose it all. With one final plea, he begs Rose to hold on. Will she be able to endure those last few seconds and have her forever with the Doctor? Will the Doctor finally buck up and tell her what's been on his mind before he even regenerated?


_**Don't Let Go**_

_**Summary: **_**The ending of Doomsday. Rose is a second away from falling into the Void. The Doctor found out something huge minutes prior and he was just about to lose it all. With one final plea, he begs Rose to hold on. Will she be able to endure those last few seconds and have her forever with the Doctor? Will the Doctor finally buck up and tell her what's been on his mind before he even regenerated?**

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I saw**_** Doomsday _(for the billionth time) the other day and got really sad over its ending, so I wrote this quick one-shot. I had an idea for a story and considered making this the first chapter, but I decided to leave it as it is and do that other story some other time. So, enjoy this quick thingy and I'll see you all soon with other stories I have in my drafts._**__

_**Any criticism is appreciated. If you have time, leave a review. Thank you in advance!**_

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN _DOCTOR WHO_, OR ANYTHING RELATED TO SAID SHOW. **

The Doctor never expected those few days to be so hard. Sure, over the course of his 900-odd years of life, he faced a lot of hard things. He lost a lot. He saw horrors like none before him, things so mad, so impossible that he always wanted to forget. But in a way, it always reassured him. He kept on traveling to see the impossible, always saying that the day he knows everything, the day everything is possible, he might as well stop going. But the impossible always brought many things. It brought him new people, friends, family. It brought happiness, and joy, and love, and reassurance, and so many other wonderful things, but it also brought pain, and sadness, and hurt, and a lot of letdowns, and loss. But recently, the thing the impossible brought was what he cared for the most, what he loved the most. It brought him his pink and yellow girl. It brought him Rose Tyler. Yes, he loves her. He loves her more than anything. More than anyone. And the months he spent traveling with her were the greatest of his life. He knew she didn't consider herself to be the cleverest, but she was brilliant. Fantastic. She was his fantastic Rose. And he loved her more than anything.

Of course, long periods of traveling made them both homesick. The Doctor's home he considered to be his TARDIS since he had nothing else in life. Just his TARDIS and Rose. His planet was gone, his home destroyed. Still, he was happy with what he had. But Rose had a home other than the wonderful ship. London. She had a family there. So, every now and then, he'd take her back to see her mum, rest a while. He did so that day.

Still, with all the things that went on, one of the scariest was her mother hugging him, kissing him. She was a bit overexcited to see them. Sure he loved Jackie, but not like that. Still, trouble doesn't sleep. They didn't even sit down and they were informed about some ghosts appearing. After some experiments, he traced the origin of their arrival to be an institute called Torchwood. He knew nothing about it. But when he arrived, a woman called Iyvon filled him in. That's when he realized the name sounded familiar. Queen Victoria created the institute in the mansion of Sir Robert's just after he and Rose left. Still, it's purpose changed. At first, it was supposed to defend the Earth from alien threats, but it grew to start using alien tech for their own benefit. He didn't necessarily approve of it, but they had other things to worry about.

After roaming about a little, they learned that the so-called ghosts were in fact Cybermen passing from the world he, Rose and Mickey accidentally visited some time ago. With the trouble came the people who fought them. Jake, Pete, Mickey, and some others. Still, the trouble truly began when the Void ship that appeared out of nowhere before he got there opened, and revealed the Cult of Scaro, and an old Time Lord prison filled with millions of Daleks. The Doctor got there in time to save Rose and Mickey, but the ark opened by accident. Still, they'd have opened it this way or the other, not so pretty one. The Doctor had an idea to get rid of them, but that meant sending everyone way. Everyone including Rose. He had to open the Void, have it suck everyone who crossed between dimensions in it. That included him, Rose, Mickey, Pete and everyone who came along, as well as the Daleks and Cybermen. As always, his main priority was getting Rose to safety. Pete's device came in handy. While arguing with Jackie, defending him, he slipped it around her neck and gestured for Pete to take them away. Jackie went along, she was a ghost passenger when he and Rose went to check out the source. His hearts crumbled into dust as he watched her disappear, after clearly stating that she was staying with him.

He was seconds away from opening the Void when she reappeared. His hearts raced, joy filling him to see her again, but he concealed it. He wanted her to stay desperately, but he knew he couldn't keep her safe that way. In one desperate move, he tried using her mother as an excuse to have her go, no matter how much it hurt him.

"I made my choice a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave you", she said finally, tears slowly gathering in her eyes, "D'you remember, Doctor? The only two people standing on that planet. You asked how long I was going to stay with you and I promised you my forever. Whether it's one minute or a thousand years, it's yours."

His hearts broke all over. He knew she wasn't going to leave him, and he didn't want her to. He had many companions, but none like her. And he loved none of them like her. Maybe she loved him too, but that just made things worse. He knew he couldn't keep her safe. She handed him her heart, and he knew he couldn't keep it. Sooner or later he'd lose her. Maybe during their travels, maybe due to a natural cause. He cursed humans for having such short lives. Sure, he always said a Time Lord lives to long, but had he not had that long a life, he'd never have met her. Still, he didn't want to lose her, but he knew to lose her here was far greater and easily achieved than if she just lived a normal life in a different world. She could fall into the Void, forever lost. There she could have a life.

He was aware of the Daleks and Cybermen trying to break through to them, but he didn't care, "But Rose, you're sacrificing everything. For me. And I'm not worth it. Please, don't make it harder."

He was crying, tears rolling down his face. She was as well. He reached up to brush them off, it hurt him to see her like that. She backed away slightly, so he put his hand down.

"Because Doctor, I-I...", she gulped, gathering strength for something, "I love you. I love you more than anything. And I understand you want to keep me safe, but I don't want to go. Please, don't make me do it..."

She was full-on crying, sobbing. He froze. After a couple of seconds, he pulled her into a tight hug. He felt her tears on his jacket and neck. He felt her sobs against his chest. And he shared it.

"Rose, don't cry, please", he managed. Cybermen and Daleks were still trying to get in, but he didn't care, "I don't want you to go, ever. I only want you safe. You mean more to me than anything in the whole of time and space. Please, don't forget that."

She nodded weakly and he put her down. They had to get to work, and they had to hurry, "We have to get this over with. I could use your help."

"Whatever you need."

"When I say now, pull that lever. We'll have maybe a couple of seconds to get a hold of these. Once the Void is open, hold on with all you have, all right? It'll try to suck us in along with everything else. Just hold on, okay?"

She nodded and they did as he said. Just in time to get a hold of the devices. The power of the Void was strong, but neither of them let go. Just another minute and it'll pass. He prayed to anything out there to let it work. He didn't keep his eyes off Rose. Still, his luck was always rotten. Her lever released. He told her to stay put, but the Void was already closing. Despite what he said, she let go and grabbed the lever. With a little effort, she got it up again. The Void kept sucking the Daleks and Cybermen in. But he was afraid Rose won't be able to hold on. Terror was washing over him. He saw her fingers slipping. There was nothing he could do. He'd get sucked in if he tried to reach her. Just a couple more seconds. She had to hold on just a couple more seconds. With his last shred of hope he screamed.

"ROSE", though he wasn't sure she could hear him, but she was looking at him, "Rose, don't let go! Please, just, hold on! Please!"

And just like that, he thought she was going to fall, but she didn't. It was like she found new strength. Perhaps it was his plea, perhaps the fear of falling. Perhaps she was just that determined. But she found new strength. She gripped the lever tighter with one hand, then with the other. Twenty seconds, that's all they needed. Just twenty seconds. He kept telling her to hold on, that it'll be over soon. And it was. The Void folded, like a piece of paper being scrunched up before tossing it in the bin. The Void closed, and they were clear. Rose fell, hitting her head. He quickly let go of his hold and ran over to her. New terror washed over him. He fell next to her, picking her up in his arms, rocking back and forward slightly. Tears were falling down his face already. She was unconscious, a small cut on her forehead from where she hit it.

"Rose, wake up. Open your eyes. Please Rose, wake up", he kept repeating, "It's over. We're safe, Rose. I'm here. God, please, Rose, open your eyes..."

Those couple of moments were terrible, the most terrible in his life. He kept calling her, begging her to open her eyes. Slowly, she did. Blood was shining in the cut on her head, but other than that she seemed fine. Terror was replaced with joy. His hearts mended. She was there, alive and with him. He wasn't letting her go.

"D-Doctor?" she muttered, "What happened?"

"We did it. We did it sweetheart", he smiled, "We're safe."

She sat up slowly in his lap and hugged him. They held each other like that for a while. Like if they let go, the whole world would crumble to nothing. His sad tears stopped rolling after a couple of minutes, replaced by a smile and tears of joy. They did it. They made it out. They were alive, they were together. And he realized there was one thing he felt from the very begging. From when he was still on his ninth face, just before they encountered the Sliteen the second time. He loved her. And he nearly lost her now. If he had, she'd never have known. She said it to him, why couldn't he tell her? Once they parted he slowly got up, offering his hand. She took it with a confused expression.

"C' mon, let's go", he said.

"Go where?" she asked with a soft smile.

"Our forever", he said and her smile faded. A confused expression once again took over, "I love you, Rose Tyler. More than anything in the whole wide universe. More than anyone in the whole of time. You're the most important person in my entire existence. And I love you. You're my pink and yellow human. My wonderful, brilliant, fantastic Rose. That still doesn't work with the teeth. Doesn't matter now. My point is that you, Rose Tyler, need to know it. I don't want to lose you, ever. I don't know what I'd do if I did."

"Than you won't", she said softly, a smile forming on her lips, "I love you too."

She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him in a kiss. A real, proper, passionate kiss. He put his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. Her hands wrapped around his neck. He was the happiest man in the whole of time and space at that moment. Once they separated, he stared into her eyes with a huge grin on his face. At that moment nothing but her mattered. She took his hand.

"C' mon", she said softly, a smile on her face, "Our forever is waiting."

"Allons-y!" he exclaimed and together, they entered the TARDIS, and flew up to the stars, "I have my TARDIS, I have my Rose. And that makes me the luckiest, happiest man ever."


End file.
